Modi govt asks HC to direct Karnataka govt to vacate madrasa in Srirangapatna Jama Masjid

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala assembly on Monday witnessed heated argument between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front over the increasing violence involving youths as well as the drug menace.

The chief minister blamed it on films that celebrate violence, competitiveness among youngsters and lapses in parenting as key reasons for the increasing violent tendency among the youngsters. He also stressed the need to carry out awareness campaigns and said that there would not be any compromise in enforcement.

Congress gave a notice for adjournment motion in the house in the wake of the back to back incidents of violence involving students, the latest being the death of a tenth standard student at Kozhikode the other day following an attack by five other students. Considering the gravity of the scenario, the government allowed a discussion on the matter.

The Chief Minister was agitated over Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who presented the notice for the motion, accusing the government of failing to curb the drug menace and also alleged of links of CPM's student outfits Students' Federation of India in brutal violence at campuses. Vijayan was also irked as Chennithala pin pointed the attack on him by repeatedly using 'Mr. chief minister'.

Vijayan said that the increasing criminal tendency among children was a global issue. "As the world becomes very competitive right from studies to jobs, the younger generations are becoming more restless. The competitiveness, which seems to be an outcome of globalization, was also causing enmity in young minds. With parents failing to spend adequate time with children, the children and getting addicted to digital devices," said Vijayan.

He also said that there were police reports that children were even getting attracted to goonda gangs after being influenced by films that celebrate violence. The sensor board needs to look into the matter. Web series and social media were also badly influencing children.

Listing out the number of drug peddling cases nabbed by the police and excise departments in the recent years, Vijayan said that there was no lapse in enforcement.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan extended the opposition's support to the government in fighting the menace.

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on Friday said that he will neither retract his recent statements against the RSS and BJP nor will he apologise for them, while the two saffron outfits demanded that he be arrested for his remarks.

Gandhi, during the recent unveiling of a statue of the late Gandhian P Gopinathan Nair at Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram, had referred to the BJP and RSS as "dangerous and insidious enemies" who have entered Kerala.

He had also termed the RSS as "poison", following which BJP-RSS workers shouted slogans and blocked his car.

On Friday, speaking at an event in Aluva near Kochi, Gandhi said that once he said "those things", he does not believe in retracting them or apologising for them.

"What this incident has done is strengthen my resolve to continue to expose the traitors. This is a fight which is even more essential than the freedom fight. We have a common enemy now, the Sangh. They must be exposed," he said.

He also said that he was worried that "the descendants of my great grandfather's murderers" will go to Mahatma Gandhi's statue and fire bullets at it "as they are habituated to do".

The BJP hit back at him by saying that he is just someone who was "by default" born as a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi and has been trying to "monetise" his great grandfather's name.

Former Union Minister of State and BJP leader V Muraleedharan alleged that Tushar Gandhi has been for several years trying to "monetise" Mahatma Gandhi's name.

Muraleedharan, speaking at a BJP protest against Tushar Gandhi at Neyyattinkara, further said that those who invited him for the statue unveiling probably were not aware of his background.

He further said that just because Tushar has the Gandhi name, it does not entitle him to the same respect or honour reserved for the Father of the Nation.

He demanded that Tushar Gandhi be arrested for his statements based on the BJP's complaint.

The BJP leader also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government for arresting five RSS-BJP workers a day ago for raising slogans against Mahatma Gandhi's grandson.

A case was registered against the five people under Sections 189(2), 191(2), 190, and 126(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and wrongful restraint.

According to the police, a small group of people, allegedly linked to the Sangh Parivar, raised slogans against Tushar Gandhi at the end of a function he attended at Neyyattinkara on Wednesday evening.

Vijayan had strongly condemned the alleged "Sangh Parivar attack" on Tushar Gandhi, stating that actions that suppress freedom of expression cannot be allowed in a democratic society.

In a sharp retort to US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs charge, the Chinese embassy in the US said Beijing is ready to "fight till the end" in any type of war the US wants. "If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the Chinese embassy's official handle posted on X after Trump's explosive remarks in a joint session at Congress.

Trump said other countries have used tariffs against the US for decades. "Now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada. Have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%. China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Korea's average tariff is four times higher," he said.

"This is happening by friend and foe. This system is not fair to the United States and never was... That's reciprocal back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them," he said.

Trump has increased previously imposed 10 per cent levies on Chinese goods to 20 per cent. China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the US.

"The United States' unilateral tax measures seriously violate WTO rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation," Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement.

While imposing the tariffs, Trump accused China of not doing enough to halt the trafficking of fentanyl and other highly potent opioids into the US.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has contested this. "The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. The US, not anyone else, is responsible for the #FentanylCrisis inside the US. In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes," it said in a statement.

"They've been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the US's problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation. Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating. If the US truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals," it added.